


People Don't Fall In Love With Monsters

by tabbytabbytabby



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Friends With Benefits, Good Theo Raeken, M/M, Pining, Post-Canon, Sad, Theo Raeken Needs a Hug, Unhappy Ending, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-15
Updated: 2018-08-15
Packaged: 2019-06-27 21:45:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,887
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15693984
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tabbytabbytabby/pseuds/tabbytabbytabby
Summary: Theo spent a long time working on keeping his walls up and not letting himself care about people. Enter Liam, who finds a way to push past Theo's walls and get him to care. The thing Theo comes to realize is that just because you love someone it doesn't mean they're going to love you back, no matter how much you want them to.





	People Don't Fall In Love With Monsters

**Author's Note:**

  * For [manonlemelon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/manonlemelon/gifts).



> This is for Manon who wanted some angst and unrequited love.  
> This was also interesting because I managed to do almost a 2K fic without a hint of dialogue.

Theo spent a lot of time building up his walls and pushing down his emotions. It's better that way, in fact that's how he prefers it. Feelings are messy. The last thing he needed was to care about someone or get too attached. He knows how that ends and it's never good.

And yet somewhere along the way those carefully crafted walls start coming down. He starts feelings things and wanting more out of life than just power. For a while, it’s just to survive. But then realizes it’s to belong. He wants a place in the pack. More than that, he wants a place in Liam’s life.

The thought is a scary one. One he spends months battling with. He’s never let himself care about someone like this before and yet here he is, caring about Liam. He doesn’t know why but he feels a pull towards him. Some strange desire to protect him and keep him safe. At first he tries to rationalize and tell himself it’s because Liam’s the one that brought him and back and then broke the sword, ensuring that he stay here.

But then he starts feeling things. Things which he tries to put off as something else. Like the flare of jealousy he felt whenever he saw Liam with Hayden. It was easy to put it off as annoyance at the sight of the two of them. They were constantly all over each other. But then he keeps feeling it whenever he sees Liam flirting with anyone else, or someone hits on Liam.

Even then he tries to tell himself it’s all purely an attraction, nothing more than that. That at least Theo can handle. But then he starts saving Liam and no matter how many times he tries to tell himself it’s because he needs Liam alive for his own benefit and survival he knows that’s not the case.

He’s drawn to Liam in a way he’s never been drawn to anyone before. He doesn’t know how but somehow Liam is able to get in and chip away at his walls until they’re all but crumbling down. He makes him feel things. He makes him _care_. It should make him furious but it doesn’t. Sure, it’s scary knowing that he cares about someone like Liam. That this person now has a hold over him in a way that no one ever has before. But part of him welcomes it. There’s a part of him that wants to feel these things. It’s small at first but it’s steadily growing. And he knows it’s because of Liam.

But there’s still no way of knowing how Liam feels. He’s sure Liam is attracted to him. He can smell the lust on him. But whether it’s something more than that he doesn’t know. He wants it to be more. He thinks Liam must care a little bit about him. Even with all their blustering and arguing, he can see hints of something else there.

He tells himself it means something when Liam kisses him in the elevator and then takes him home that night and fucks him. Even when it’s over and Liam collapses next to him and lets out a content sigh, and says that he’d been needing a way to blow off some steam and they should do it again. And they do. Theo knows he’d never be able to deny Liam anything. It makes him happy that Liam wants him in any form, even if it is sex. Even if his heart does break with each soft kiss against his skin as Liam takes him apart and tells him how good he is.

Theo wants to be good. He wants to be enough. He wants to matter to Liam. He knows he does. He’s just not sure if it’s the same way Liam matters to him. But he never brings it up. He’s almost afraid to. As if asking Liam what all of this means will break whatever fragile hold he has over the situation and send it crashing down. Theo’s been through a lot but he doesn’t know if he can handle the sting of Liam’s rejection.

So he lets himself be happy with what Liam is willing to give him. He tells himself that maybe one day it will be more, and that Liam will be able to love him the same way Theo does him. Because oh does Theo love him. It terrifies him to know that he does. To know that Liam has that much power over him. That it would only take few words for him to send Theo’s heart breaking into a million pieces.

He supposes this is what he deserves. To love someone like Liam. Someone who is good and despite everything he’s been through still not marred by darkness like Theo is. No matter how much Theo tries to crawl out of his darkness he knows it will never be enough. He’ll never be enough.

Liam keeps coming to him and crawling into his bed. He keeps kissing him and fucking him and whispering things in his ear Theo doesn’t quite believe, even if he wants to. He still holds onto it. He takes what he’s given, and he lets himself hope.

Then Liam goes to college and Theo stays behind. He’s got a decent job working at the Sheriff’s station and he’s taking online classes to get his degree. He has no reason to leave. Even if the thought of Liam leaving hurts.

Liam comes to him the night before he leaves and crawls into his bed. He’s gentler this time, more than he’s ever been before. He tells Theo that he still matters and they’ll still talk and that he cares about him. He even holds him that night. But in the morning when Theo wakes up Liam is gone.

They do talk while Liam is away at college, but it’s mostly about the classes Liam is in and how hard it is to find time to study and still have a life. Theo tries to tell him he doesn’t have to keep calling if he’s busy and it would make it easier. Liam just looks at him through the screen and tells him he’s crazy and that they’re friends, so of course they’re going to talk. He’ll always have time for him.

Except Liam does get busy and their talks become less frequent. Theo can tell Liam is sorry about it whenever they do talk, but Theo gets it. Liam is at college. He’s out there living his life and that’s what Theo wants. Even if he does miss him like crazy. Then Theo hears from Jenna that Liam’s seeing someone. She doesn’t say who because she apparently doesn’t know, but Liam had let it slip during their phone call.

Theo has to lean against the counter to stop from falling. He doesn’t know why he’s surprised. It’s not as if he and Theo were dating. They were just… friends. Friends who just happened to have sex regularly while Liam was here. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt to imagine Liam off with someone else.

Jenna must know because she pats his cheek and tells him it might not be anything serious. He knows she’s just saying that for his benefit. She even makes her special cookies and opens up a bottle of wine for the two of them and lets him cuddle up next to her on the couch. It’s happened before so Theo doesn’t think anything about it. At least not until David walks in and whistles at the sight of the bottle and makes a comment about Jenna getting out the heartbreak wine. Jenna just rubs his arm and places a kiss to his head and tells him he’ll be okay. Theo wants to believe her.

Liam doesn’t mention the mystery person to Theo at all. He expects him to. They talk about everything else. But Liam stays silent. Even when Theo makes a point to ask if he’s had anything new or big happen to him. Liam just shrugs and tells him he got an A on his history test. Theo doesn’t know what to make of it. There has to be a reason he’s not telling Theo he’s dating someone.

Unless Liam doesn’t think it’s serious and doesn’t want to bring it up to Theo. He hates how easily he latches onto that idea. That Liam doesn’t want to put Theo through hearing about some casual relationship he has in college when he’s going to be coming back to him in the summer. But he does. He lets himself believe that. It’s easier than the alternative, at least. Where Liam does think it’s serious but he doesn’t know how to tell Theo.

It’s not until summer break when Theo is hit with just how serious it is. He comes stumbling into the house with Mason beside him, which isn’t an uncommon sight. The two are always like that. It’s just who they are. But then Mason says something and Liam laughs before leaning in to kiss him. Theo is so shocked that he can’t stop the gasp from escaping. He quickly tries to mask his shock and makes himself look away. He can feel Liam’s eyes on him as he heads into the kitchen, just needing to get away.

He expects Liam to follow him but he doesn’t. He stays in the living room laughing and talking with Mason and his family. That says enough. Theo doesn’t matter, or at least whatever casual thing they had never did. Not enough for Liam to feel like he has to explain himself.

Theo does his best to calm down before joining the others in the living room. Jenna pulls him down next to her and hooks her arm through his. He knows what she’s doing and he appreciates it. She might be happy for her son but she still knows how much Theo must be hurting.

Theo makes himself look at Liam. He’s surprised to find Liam already watching him, a frown on his face. He must be able to smell how sad Theo is and Theo hates it. He misses the time when he could easily mask his emotions, when he didn’t _feel_. But even with the heartbreak he’s feeling he knows he doesn’t regret loving Liam. How could he?

So he makes himself give Liam a small smile and nods his head, keeping his voice low enough to where just Liam can hear him as he tells him he’s happy for him. Liam looks surprised at first, but then he smiles, big and wide. It’s one of Theo’s favorite smiles. Then he turns to Mason and his smile softens as their eyes meet and Theo realizes he’s never going to know what it’s like to have that smile directed at him.

Liam doesn’t love him. He’s happy and in love with Mason. Someone who is good and pure. Someone who knows Liam better than anyone else and has never hurt him the way Theo has. Liam never could have loved him. He sees that now. Theo’s a monster. A reformed one but still someone with that dark past hanging over his head. People don’t fall in love with monsters. Certainly not people like Liam.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Kudos/Comments make my day. ♥  
> [My tumblr](http://tabbytabbytabby.tumblr.com/)


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